Outdoors: New England Fishing & Outdoor Expo a Worcester treasure

For outdoorsmen and women suffering from cabin fever, there's much relief this weekend at the DCU Center, even with an impending historic blizzard.

Withdrawal symptoms from the abrupt end to our hunting season and anxiety over a saltwater and boating season that won't resume in earnest until early May should appreciably dissipate as soon as the New England Fishing & Outdoor Expo doors open at 12:30 p.m. today. In deference to the blizzard, it will close at 6 tonight, but stay open until 8 p.m. Saturday.

Thousands will attend clinics at the show to improve their fishing and hunting success. More pickup trucks will be parked downtown than at any other time of the year. Sportsmen around the DCU Center will outnumber pharmacy students, and Cabela's will rule over Jimmy Choos.

Although many sportsmen will come specifically for fishing and hunting seminars (I'll be presenting “Deer Hunting Around the World” at 3:15 today and at 2 p.m. Saturday), everyone will be shopping for a good buy on top equipment, lures, fly-tying materials or a trip with a good outfitter.

At Saturday's show, though, we'll also have a chance to meet some of our own award-winning fishermen and find out how good Massachusetts waters really are.

The 2012 Angler of the Year Award goes to teenager Jake Souza of Berkley. The annual recipient weighs in the largest number of species that qualify under the Freshwater Sport Fishing Awards Program. Souza landed 11 species from southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.

We're fortunate in Worcester. Not every big city can host a sportsmen's show successfully. With the biggest of them all in Harrisburg, Pa., shutting down this year, Worcester has become the hub for eastern sportsmen.

Here’s a partial list of exhibitors with whom you’ll have a chance to visit – and maybe negotiate a good deal. Seeing the list ahead of time can save you a lot of time and help you formulate a priority list of whom you want to chat with.

I noticed looking it over, for example, that my good friends of BlueCliff Safaris, flying all the way from South Africa, will be here. They’ve hosted me for great kudu, bushbuck, caracal, and duiker hunting as well as gourmet dining.

Seeing from the inside what it takes to bring this whole-family outdoor expo to Worcester, I encourage every local sportsmen who cares about our tradition to support it and help it continue to thrive and expand. If you love the show as much as I do, you might want to give producers Dan Kenney and Andy Davis a big thanks for their loyal community efforts. See you at the show!

Show hours are 12:30 to 6 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for children, and free for kids under 5. For information, go to newenglandfishingexpo.com.

Saturday, Sunday — 14th annual Rutland Sportsman's Club Ice Fishing Derby. Fish may be taken from any waters in the state and be brought to the club for measurement. Info: Ronnie Howe, (774) 696-6465, or the club, (508) 886-4721.

Saturday through June 2 — Lure of the Ocean: The Art of Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006), Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, Conn. The first artist to portray realistically major game fish species — including marlin, bluefish, striped bass, tuna and sharks — in their natural habitats, Meltzoff was the master of the genre.

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